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March is not really prime garden visiting time: a few gardens with specialist collections are open for the wonderful National Gardens Scheme, but most of them are keeping their powder dry in readiness for spring and summer.However, gardeners still

: I was told it by Kim Hurst from the Cottage Herbery at the Malvern Spring Show last year (the 2009 show, by the way, runs from 7-10 May; I hope to see you there) . Those of you sensible enough not to let mint run loose in your flower beds will have

20,000 — so I try to visit as many of them as possible at this time of year. This is partly to see the fruits of all that labour, but also to make notes ready for the next planting season in autumn. Generally, as my family will happily tell you, I am

.)Malus 'Red Sentinel': one of the finest crab apples with sensational autumn colour and jewelled clusters of small red apples that cling on long after the leaves have fallen. The blossom is a fine pinky reddy white in spring.Acer davidii, the snake bark maple

Spot the odd one out from these four: 1) Quincy Jones (Music Producer who worked with Michael Jackson and Frank Sinatra). 2) Thomas de Quincey (ferociously clever writer and drug addict). 3)Quincy ME (1970s television series starring Jack Klugman

around 10pm and by the next morning it had all gone. All well and good except that we have a bit of a British Rail problem - it was completely the wrong type of snow. Instead of being light, fluffy cotton-woolly snow this was wet and heavy. As a result

and it is one of my great pleasures. The dark green leaves go perfectly with the aged brick, in the spring it is covered with frothy white flowers and come the autumn the branches are laden with red berries. When the hard frosts come we then have a wonderful

. On Thursday I'm with the twinkling Chris Beardshaw, on Friday with earthy Monty Don and on Saturday and Sunday with gingery Joe Swift. If you're looking for somewhere to go this coming weekend (10-11 May) please come along and say 'hello'.I'm already looking

than Allium species. Then they send up tall slender stems (about 1.2m) topped with a tight bud, shaped like a torpedo. Over the next few weeks this bud gets fatter and fatter, while the membrane holding it in gets thinner and more papery. Some of you

Absence will always make the heart grow fonder: especially in gardens. I have just got back after a few days at the Malvern Spring Show — which was, as always, great fun, pretty fabulous and completely exhausting — and it is amazing how much fuller